J OANNE R OWLING

born She was born at the 31 th of July 1965 in England Occupation Occupation: Novelist Education Education: Bachelor of Arts Alma mater Alma mater: University of Exeter Genres Genres: Fantasy Notable work Notable work: Harry Potter series Children Children: 2 daughters, 1 son

Joanne Rowling was born in Yate, near Bristol, a few miles south of a town called Dursley.

C HURCH C OTTAGE, T UTSHILL It is Rowling's childhood home

G RADUATED FROM E XETER U NIVERSITY.

S HE IS A FORMER E NGLISH TEACHER.

In 1988, Rowling wrote a short- essay about her time studying Classics entitled "What was the Name of that Nymph Again? or Greek and Roman Studies Recalled", it was published by the University of Exeter's journal Pegasus

S HE WRITES ALL OF HER BOOKS IN LONGHAND, RATHER THAN WITH A COMPUTER.

When the first "Harry Potter" novel was published, the publisher asked her to use initials rather than her first name, because boys would be biased against a book written by a woman. Since she only had one given name, they then asked her to make up another initial; she took "K." from her favorite grandmother, Kathleen. «J.K.R.»

T HE ELEPHANT HOUSE "The Elephant House" – one of the cafés in Edinburgh in which Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter novel

In 1995, Rowling finished her manuscript for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone on an old manual typewriter

H ER BOOK, "H ARRY P OTTER AND THE G OBLET OF F IRE ", WAS THE TOP - SELLING BOOK OF 2000, WITH 7 MILLION HARDCOVERS SOLD.

Harry Potter is now a global brand worth an estimated £7 billion ($15 billion)

In October 1998, Warner Bros. purchased the film rights to the first two novels for a seven-figure sum

Rowling had gained some creative control on the films, reviewing all the scripts as well as acting as a producer on the final two-part installment, Deathly Hallows

Forbes has named Rowling as the first person to become a U.S.-dollar billionaire by writing books, the second-richest female entertainer and the 1,062nd richest person in the world

She was awarded the O.B.E. (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2000 Queen Elizabeth II's Birthday Honors List for her services to literature and received it from one of her fans, Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales.

Rowling, once a single parent herself, is now president of the charity Gingerbread (originally One Parent Families)

In 2006, Rowling contributed a substantial sum toward the creation of a new Centre for Regenerative Medicine at Edinburgh University

In September 2008, on the eve of the Labour Party Conference, Rowling announced that she had donated £1 million to the Labour Party

She believes that poor and vulnerable families will fare much better under the Labour Party than they would under a Cameron-led Conservative Party

As a resident of Scotland, Rowling is eligible to vote in the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence, and intends to vote in favour of the union

Over the years, some religious people have decried Rowling's books for supposedly promoting witchcraft; however, Rowling identifies as a Christian

Rowling has received honorary degrees from St Andrews University, the University of Edinburgh, Napier University, the University of Exeter, the University of Aberdeen and Harvard University, for whom she spoke at the 2008 commencement ceremony. In 2009 Rowling was awarded the Légion d'honneur by French President Nicolas Sarkozy

J. K. R OWLING S SIGNATURE

T IGANOVA N ADEZHDA -A NASTASIYA, T ERNOVETSKAYA A NNA S CHOOL 10 P ETROPAVLOVSK -K AMCHATSKY